SUPER SOLDIER TRAINING

I have long wondered what it would take to build yourself into a super soldier, an individual with superior mental and physical capabilities operating well beyond what is considered humanly possible. A person with immense strength and endurance, supplemented with impressive fighting skills. I have studied the training styles of warrior civilizations whose status as Super soldiers have been respected by their bitter enemies. Civilizations such as the Zulu, Spartans, the Vikings and the Ninja (arguably the best warriors of all).

I have been working on developing the super human endurance and strength of a super soldier whilst retaining superior mental alertness.

 

Stamina

The Supersoldier needs a very high level of stamina to perform at an optimal operational level, as they are constantly on the move and must have an unending supply of energy. A shoulder should be able to march for hours and still retain the strength to deliver a good fight when he confronts his enemy.

 

Stamina can be built in two ways, by rowing and by walking. Rowing exercises in addition to working your heart and lungs, require you to pull with your arms and drive with your feet, thereby building your biceps, trapezius, hip flexors, quadriceps and calves. Try rowing 10,000 meters in 20 minutes, and I can assure you that every muscle in your body and mind will scream for respite within the first 5 minutes.

 

Brisk walking helps you build the cardiovascular and muscular endurance required to build a super soldier constitution.

 

 

 

Strength

 

 

The kind of strength required by a super soldier is not built through conventional bodybuilding. He has to haul heavy equipment for miles, whilst ensuring that it does not impede his combat abilities. His physical strength does not stand alone, it walks side by side with mental toughness.

 

You will be training 4 times per week, focusing on one of the following lifts each day: squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press (military press or seated Behind the neck press). Other important lifts include barbell rows, pullups, Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, front squats, barbell curls and the close grip bench press. Keep rest periods very short.

 

Becoming a super soldier is not a day's job, you've got to place one foot in front of the other and give 110% ON EACH REP. Within a few weeks, your hard work will manifest in a high performance body.

 

 

 

CROSSFIT: MEET YOUR LIMITS

CrossFit began with Greg Glassman, a trainer and gymnast who started training clients in his garage in the 1970s. Over the past decade, CrossFit has swelled to a subculture of gyms with more than 1,500 locations worldwide. they usually contain some combination of bodyweight exercises, plyometrics, Olympic lifts, sprinting and use of implements like kettlebells. The training is intense and done for a time - workouts rarely last more than 20 to 30 minutes. Thus, while CrossFit followers typically join to improve performance, they inevitably build muscle and get leaner, too.

I scrounged around and dug up some CrossFit exercises which will spice up your workout repetoire and swiftly improve your strength and muscle definition. Perform the exercise as a circuit, completing one set of each without rest. Between circuits, rest as little as possible. Do seven reps of each move and repeat for seven total circuits. Time yourself; try to beat your time each session.

 

 Renegade Rows:

 

Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell and get into push-up position while balancing on the weights. Keeping your shoulders squared, press one dumbbell into the floor while rowing the other bell to your ribs. Lower the weight and repeat on the other side.  Aim for 100 reps on each side.

 

 

Burpee
 

Stand with feet at hip width and arms at your sides. Dip your hips and knees and swing your arms back to gather momentum. Jump as high as you can and then land with control. Immediately lower your body into a squat. Then touch the floor in front of you and shoot your legs back so you end up in push-up position. Perform a push-up. Then jump your legs back under your chest and stand up.

 

 

Overhead Medicine Ball Slam
 

Hold a medicine ball (use one that bounces) with both hands. Push your hips back and bend forward, lowering the ball almost to the floor between your legs with arms extended. Then explosively, swing the ball overhead, extending your legs and back so you come up onto the balls of your feet. Push your weight back into your hips and throw the ball down towards the floor as hard as you can and catch the ball as it bounces back up. This workout builds your rear delts, traps and shoulder muscles while increasing your heart rate.

 

Try out these few exercises and tell me how it feels in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LEGALLY MUSCLED ULTIMATE FITNESS CHALLENGE

Its here!!!!! The challenge I promised you.

Can you do any of the following...

150 pushups  

200 tricep dips

200 situps

200 crunches

300 bodyweight squats

50   pull ups

Run 5 miles in 30 minutes

Swim 50 laps in 35 minutes

If your answer is no, then you are a candidate for my ultimate fitness challenge.

This is a 12 week program, aimed at awakening that inner warrior that lurks beneath each and every one of us.

Unleash the warrior within.........

Now, I permit no illusions, Like Navy SEAL training, this program will break you - only the mentally strong will survive and a new, strengthened person will emerge. During this program, you should notice that your strength, agility, and endurance will soar to heights never imagined.   

In this challenge, the Competition is with your self, not with others. Do not be concerned with being better or worse than someone else. My desire is that each day, you go to sleep a little better than when you woke up. Take each day as it comes; know your limits, work with them, and turn them into strengths of their own.

“Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both....and surpass the result." - Tien T'ai

The sad truth is that many of us have abdicated our role of training the inner warrior, and now we end up being aimless solders that cannot control ourselves, our desires, and our appearance. If you do not initiate the warrior part of man, the dark warrior will always win, even by default or denial.

Nobody wants to fail. Yet in our culture people are struggling to succeed in life. The battles they fight at home, at work, with their finances and in their walk with God can be overwhelming. When marriages starts to unravel or children begin making bad choices, a lot of people withdraw into the comfort of food; they just don’t know what to do!

Do you have what it takes to become an urban warrior?

The Urban Warrior faces each day with the mentality that he must perform to the best of his ability, on every mission he undertakes. This is why they are so successful. Unless you do your best, the day will come when, tired and discouraged, you will halt just short of the goal you desired to reach, and  by halting you will make useless the efforts you have expended on your mission.

A warrior must cultivate the feeling that he has everything needed for the extravagant journey that is his life. What counts for a warrior is being alive. Life in itself is sufficient, self-explanatory and complete. Therefore, one may say without being presumptuous that the experience of experiences is being alive.

"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay it's price." - Sun Tzu

I have no doubt that the program below works, but it does take commitment and determination. The exercises are simple, you will not need to learn any fancy movements or use high tech machines.

By the end of this program, you should be able to execute the following exercises:

·         50 pushups in 1 minute

·         50 sit ups in 1 minute

·         100 squats in 2 minutes

·         15 pull ups in 1 minute

·         Run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes.

You should always stretch for at least 15 minutes before any workout; however, just stretching the previously worked muscles will make you more flexible and less likely to get injured. A good way to start stretching is to start at the top and go to the bottom. Stretch to tightness, not to pain; hold for 10-15 seconds. Do not bounce. Stretch every muscle in your body from the neck to the calves, concentrating on your thighs, hamstrings, chest, back, and shoulders.

You must make sure you receive the necessary nutrients to obtain maximum performance output during exercise and to promote muscle/tissue growth and repair. The proper diet provides all the nutrients for the body's needs and supplies energy for exercise. It also promotes growth and repair of tissue and regulates the body processes.

The best source of complex carbohydrates are potatoes, pasta, rice, fruits, vegetables. These types of foods are your best sources of energy.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are the three energy nutrients. All three can provide energy, but carbohydrate is the preferred source of energy for physical activity. It takes at least 20 hours after exhaustive exercise to completely restore muscle energy, provided 600 grams of carbohydrates are consumed per day. During successive days of heavy training, energy stores prior to each training session become progressively lower. This is a situation in which a high carbohydrate diet can help maintain your energy.

The majority of carbohydrates should come from complex carbohydrate foods that include bread, crackers, cereal, beans, peas, starchy vegetables, and other whole grain or enriched grain products. Fruits are also loaded with carbohydrates. During training, more than four servings of these food groups should be consumed daily.

Water intake is vital; stay hydrated. You should be consuming up to four quarts of water daily. Drink water before you get thirsty!!! Substances such as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco increase your bodies need for water. Too much of these substances will definitely harm your body and hinder your performance. Supplemental intake of vitamins, as well, has not been proven to be beneficial. If you are eating a well balanced diet, there is no need to take vitamins.

Week 1:

In this week you will perform the following exercises

·         4 sets of 10 Push Ups

     4 sets of 10 Tricep dips

·         4 sets of 20 Sit Ups

·         3 sets of 3 Pull Ups

·         Run/walk 1 mile (don’t bother about time just yet